If you have high blood sugar, between 100-125 mg/dL, you are considered prediabetic. You are diabetic if consistent fasting blood glucose readings are over 130mg/dL and your hemoglobin A1C is 6.5 or above (A1C is an average of your blood glucose levels over 3 months). You’ll likely be prescribed Metformin (and you likely won’t be asked about your diet or stress levels). Common Metformin side effects include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, weakness, and hypoglycemia. But did you know there is a natural compound that has been tested and proven to lower blood glucose levels just as effectively as Metformin? And it has a list of benefits rather than side effects?

Enter berberine, a natural alkaloid found in several different herbs/plants such as barberry, goldenseal, Oregon grape root, phellodendron, and tree turmeric. It has long been used in Chinese medicine and has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and immune-enhancing properties. I often use berberine as part of my anti-candida and anti-parasite protocols.

berberine doesn’t have a mile-long list of potential side effects like most pharmaceutical drugs

berberine actually has a list of positive effects on the body. That’s right: Rather than potentially causing harm, berberine can make you healthier.

So how does it work? Berberine has been shown to activate an enzyme inside the cell that regulates metabolism and boost fat burning, affecting body weight, triglyceride levels, blood cholesterol, insulin, and blood glucose.

High blood sugar and diabetes increase oxidative damage in the body, raising one’s risk for cancer and heart disease. Many people with diabetes also struggle with obesity, and berberine has been shown effective for fat burning and against cancer, heart disease, high blood sugar and insulin levels. This is a major win; a natural compound that works on a cellular level to improve metabolic syndrome and overall wellness. Does any prescribed drug do the same?

How to take Berberine

First off, quality matters. Herbs and plant compounds are not regulated as supplements, so it’s very important to buy them from a reputable and trusted source. The labels can be misleading, and contents can vary from batch to batch. For lowering blood sugar, I recommend Berberine Synergy (you can read more about its benefits by clicking the link), which is combined with alpha lipoic acid to help support optimal blood sugar and insulin levels, cardiovascular health, and liver health. It’s also effective for lowering insulin levels associated with PCOS. The dose is 1 per meal (3 daily). The company from which I source it has rigorous testing standards. For parasites and pathogens I use this product that combines berberine with other effective anti-microbial herbs.

Does Berberine have any potential risks?

Berberine has few if any significant side effects. It does have the potential to cause GI upset, and in my experience, this can be due to die-off of harmful bacteria in the gut (Herxheimer reaction). These symptoms typically pass after a week or two, but you can lower the dosage if this occurs. If you are taking any other pharmaceuticals, you’ll need to research or check with your doctor to see if there are interactions with berberine since it could lower blood sugar to harmful levels when combined with other drugs, like Metformin. It may also decrease effectiveness of certain drugs.

I recommend using herbs and plants instead of drugs in most cases because they work with your body chemistry on a molecular level rather than relieving symptoms and potentially creating further imbalance. Berberine is actually as effective, if not more, than blood sugar lowering drugs and has so many positive benefits. If you’ve been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you absolutely can control your hyperglycemia with diet and lifestyle changes, and berberine is an herb to add to your protocol. If you have pre-diabetes, start now by making the diet changes I outline here. Berberine can help lower blood sugar, control bad bacteria in the gut, and reverse chronic disease and oxidative damage (making it great for anti-aging)!